Category Archives: TV

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Word Soup Wednesday: Battleground state, die dreaming, unwindulax

Have you recovered from the election? We have (barely). To help you out, here are some interesting and ridiculous words we’ve learned from TV.

battleground state

Anderson Cooper: “Is it all going to be about voter turnout [in Virginia]?”
Commentator: “Yes, here and other battleground states.”

The Colbert Report, November 5, 2012

A battleground state is also known as a swing state or purple state, as opposed to a blue or red state, which have “a majority of its electorate voting for,” respectively, the Democratic or Republican “candidate in a U.S. presidential election.”

A battleground state “is a state in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support in securing that state’s electoral college votes.” The term originated around 1832, says the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), while swing state is much newer, coming about around 1964.

celtuce

Chef: “This is celtuce. . . .A cross between celery and lettuce. It’s really popular in Asia.”

“Brooklyn,” No Reservations, November 6, 2012

Celtuce is  “a type of lettuce. . .valued especially for its edible stems.”

chum

Liz: “What the hell, Jack? I thought you said I was your chum.”
Jack: “You are my chum. The bait I throw in the water to attract the big fish.”
Liz: “Dammit, second meaning!”

“Unwindulax,” 30 Rock, October 24, 2012

Chum originally referred to “one who lodges or resides in the same chamber or rooms with another; a room-mate: especially applied to college students.” The word is an alternative spelling of cham, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, which is “short for chamber(mate), typical of the late-17c. fondness for clipped words.” By extension, chum refers to “an intimate companion; a crony.”

The “second” meaning, “bait, consisting usually of pieces of some oily fish,” originated later, around 1857, and comes from the Scottish chum, “food.”

die dreaming

Guide: “We’re drinking orange juice with Carnation milk. We call it die dreaming.”

“Dominican Republic,” No Reservations, October 29, 2012

Die dreaming, which translates from the Spanish morir soñando, is “a popular beverage of the Dominican Republic. . .usually made of orange juice, milk, cane sugar, and chopped ice.”

green on blue

Jon Stewart: “Now [the situation in Afghanistan has] become more dangerous. This whole idea of what they call green on blue violence, which is Afghani troops embedded with American troops, turning on [the American troops].”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, November 5, 2012

Green on blue, says OxfordWords Blog, “is modeled after an earlier phrase, blue on blue, referring to inadvertent clashes between members of the same side in an armed conflict.” The colors don’t have to do with uniform hue but with standardized military symbols, where “blue is used for friendly forces, red for hostile forces, green for neutral forces, and yellow for unknown forces.”

light-fingered

Constable: “They all believe that Sister Monica Jane is known to them as, and I quote, light-fingered.”

“The Adventures of Noakes and Browne,” Call the Midwife, November 4, 2012

Light-fingered in this context means “dexterous in touching and taking; thievish; addicted to petty thefts: applied particularly to pickpockets.” The phrase originated in the 1540s.

lurker

Scientist: “Take away their arms so they can’t grab you. Take away their jaws so they can’t bite you. Take away their ability to eat, they lose interest in doing so. . . .They become docile, in a sense.”
Governor: “Lurkers.”
Scientist: “Mm, docile. . . .Or lurkers, whatever you like.”

“Walk with Me,” The Walking Dead, October 28, 2012

A lurker is “one who lurks, hides, or keeps out of sight,” as well as “an impostor; a cheap quack.” Lurker comes from lurk, which is probably Scandinavian in origin. In internet slang, a lurker is “a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing, social networking site. . .but rarely or never participates actively.”

prefab

Sister: “Those prefabs are only ever expected to last four or five years.”

“We Are Family,” Call the Midwife, October 28, 2012

Prefab, short for prefabricated, or manufactured in advance, refers to “something prefabricated, especially a building or section of a building.” According to the OED, prefab refers specifically, in British English, to “a light, often single-storey house of the kind built in large numbers as temporary housing during and after the Second World War (1939–45).”

punditocracy

Stephen Colbert [to statistician Nate Silver]: “Those of us in the punditocracy make our bread and butter by telling people what the truth is as we see it from our gut.”

The Colbert Report, November 5, 2012

Punditocracy is “a group of pundits who wield great political influence.” The word is a blend of pundit, “a source of opinion; a critic,” and –cracy, “rule of government by.” While –cracy is Greek in origin, pundit comes from the Sanskrit paṇḍitaḥ, “learned, scholar.”

sea moss

Anthony Bourdain: “Sea moss is a mix of powdered, dried, deep water seaweed, milk, cinnamon, and other spices, legendary for one reason.”
Michael K. Williams: “Very potent. He’s gonna make a baby tonight.”

“Brooklyn,” No Reservations, November 6, 2012

Sea moss is a “seaweed shake that comes from Trinidad and is said to help men retain their virility.”

shants

Claire: “You finally found something less cool than those pants that zip off into shorts.”
Phil: “My shants, which you have been gunning for since day one.”

“Yard Sale,” Modern Family, October 31, 2012

Shants is a blend of shorts and pants. Other sartorial blends include skort, jeggings, and jorts.

unwindulax

Fan: “Jenna is playing a Today Show in a couple of days so we’re just camping out and unwindulaxing.”

“Unwindulax,” 30 Rock, October 24, 2012

Unwindulax is a blend of unwind and relax. The figurative meaning of unwind, “to become free of nervous tension,” originated around 1958, says the OED. Relax meaning “to relieve from attention or effort” is much older, according to the OED, attested to the 17th century.

Unwindulax is a play on chillax, a blend of chill and relax.

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Word Soup Wednesday: Pokemoning, Butt Chugging, Spatter

Welcome to Word Soup Wednesday, in which we bring you our favorite strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from TV.

Bildenkinder

Jim: “Did you ever think that because you own the building, everyone in it – we’re all kind of like your children.”
Dwight: “You know, there’s a phrase about that in German: Bildenkinder. Used almost exclusively by childless landlords to console themselves.”

“Work Bus,” The Office, October 18, 2012

Bildenkinder is a nonsense German word which translates as “formation (Bilden) children (Kinder).” See also perfektenschlage.

brick

Jimmy: “Thanks Jen, you’re a brick.”

“Maybe a Baby,” Call the Midwife, October 14, 2012

Brick is a “a term of admiration bestowed on one who on occasion or habitually shows in a modest way great or unexpected courage, kindness, or thoughtfulness, or other admirable qualities.” This sense is from 1840, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, perhaps from the idea of a brick being solid and reliable.

bush league

Vinny [to Castle]: “Frankly, I am offended that you’d think I’d do such a bush league hit. If I had whacked that guy, nobody’d ever find the body.”

“Murder, He Wrote,” Castle, October 15, 2012

Bush league refers to something amateurish or inferior. It originally referred to the minor league in baseball, from “bush in the slang sense of ‘rural, provincial.’”

butt chugging

Attorney: “I swear to each and every one of you, that every allegation of the gross and immoral activity of butt chugging or alcohol enemas never took place at the Pi Kappa Alpha house.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, October 16, 2012

Butt chugging is “the act of ingesting alcohol through one’s rectum.” The earliest citation we could find was in a May 12, 2010 post in Gawker: “We’ve heard it called ‘boofing,’ ‘slimming,’ and most descriptively, ‘butt-chugging.’”

Chug is short for chugalug, “to swallow the contents of (a container of beer, for example) without pausing,” which came about in the 1940s, says Online Etymology Dictionary, “probably imitative of the sound of swallowing.”

copperhead

Kevin: “You knew about an attack on New York and haven’t made a report to the proper authorities.”
Robert: “Who would I tell? The mayor? Governor Seymour? The editor of the New York Daily News? They’re all copperheads.”

“Better Times Are Coming,” Copper, October 7, 2012

Copperhead is a term used “during the civil war in the United States [for] a northern sympathizer with the rebellion.” It comes from the idea of the copperhead snake which “unlike the rattlesnake, has the habit of striking without previous movement or warning, whence its name is a synonym of hidden danger or secret hostility.”

detective-speak

Woman: “I should really go clean.”
Kevin: “See, in detective-speak you just said, ‘Yes, Jeremiah did know her.’”

“Better Times Are Coming,” Copper, October 7, 2012

Anachronism alert! Speak as a suffix meaning “language, jargon, or terminology” didn’t originate until 1949, says the Oxford English Dictionary, coming from George Orwell’s Newspeak. Copper takes place in 1864.

pokemoning

Jack: “I’m Great Escaping you so you have every right to do the same.”
Zarina: “My generation calls it pokemoning. Gotta catch ‘em all.”

“Stride of Pride,” 30 Rock, October 18, 2012

Great Escaping means having a ragtag group of lovers, like the characters in the film, The Great Escape. Pokemoning has the same meaning, based on a goal of the video game Pokemon to collect “all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where that game takes place.”

sex-idiot

Jack: “Zarina is the society girl I take to black tie events. When I want to talk politics, I call Ann. Tabitha knows how to work my DVR. And Mindy is my sex-idiot.”

“Stride of Pride,” 30 Rock, October 18, 2012

A sex-idiot is an intellectually challenged yet attractive person used for the sole purpose of having sex. See also bimbo and mimbo.

spatter

George: “He’s not a cop. He’s a lab rat. Blood splatter.”
Sirko: “It’s spatter. Blood spatter.”

“Run,” Dexter, October 21, 2012

The difference between spatter and splatter, says the Grammarist, is that spatter means “to scatter or dash (a liquid) in small drops,” while splatter “doesn’t necessarily involve small drops,” and “might be large and messy.”

Spatter is older, originating in the 1570s and perhaps coming from the Low German spatten, “to spout, burst.” Splatter came about around 1754, perhaps from splatterdash, “an uproar; a bustle,” or as a blend of splash and spatter.

Blood spatter analysis or bloodstain pattern analysis is a forensic tool “used in crime scene investigations” which helps the investigator understand “the dynamics of an altercation, how blood behaves when it exits the body, and how it reacts when it contacts a surface.”

stump speech

Handler to Congressman: “Just run through some of your stump speech.”

“Sex Education,” Parks and Recreation, October 18, 2012

A stump speech is “a standard speech used by a politician running for office.” The phrase originated around 1820, says Online Etymology Dictionary, from the idea of “large tree stumps being a natural perch for rural orators,” a custom attested from 1775. Stump as a verb meaning “to go about making political speeches” came from stump speech.

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Word Soup Wednesday: Dixiecrat, Etch a Sketch, zinger

Welcome to Word Soup Wednesday, in which we bring you some strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

This week’s roundup includes two anachronisms.

beat the Dutch

Andrew: “Now don’t that beat the Dutch.”

“The Hudson River School,” Copper, September 20, 2012

To beat the Dutch means “to surpass everything,” or “say [or do] something incredible.” The idiom originated around 1775, says the OED.

The origin is unclear but, according to this publication from 1887, the phrase may come from the idea of “a fancied superiority of the English settlers in wit and quickness,” and is “in fact, a good-natured way of making fun of the descendants of the Dutch colonists,” though one may question the “good-naturedness” of such a phrase.

boot

Ron: “If you need to boot again, trash can’s on your right.”

“Soda Tax,” Parks and Recreation, September 27, 2012

Boot is slang for “vomit.” Boot and rally means “to vomit (‘boot’) due to over-consumption of alcohol, and then continue partying (‘rally’).” This phrase seems to have originated in the late 1980s as campus slang.

critical mass

Lisa [regarding a black hole]: “If one more thing gets in there, it could reach critical mass!”

“Treehouse of Horror XXIII,” The Simpsons, October 7, 2012

Critical mass in this context refers to “the amount of matter needed to generate sufficient gravitational force to halt the current expansion of the universe,” and is attested to 1940. Critical Mass is also a cycling event.

Dixiecrat

Leslie: “Councilman Milton was first elected as a city councilor in 1948 as a member of the Dixiecrat party. Their platform? De-integrate baseball.”

“How a Bill Becomes a Law,” Parks and Recreation, October 4, 2012

A Dixiecrat is “a member of a dissenting group of Democrats in the South who formed the States’ Rights Party in 1948.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Dixiecrats seceded “because they opposed [the Democratic party’s] policy of extending civil rights.”

The word is a blend of Dixie, “a region of the southern and eastern United States, usually comprising the states that joined the Confederacy during the Civil War,” and Democrat.

dog’s bollocks

Owen: “Aren’t you the dog’s bollocks?”
Roland: “Is that a good thing?”

“Blue Bell Boy,” Boardwalk Empire, October 7, 2012

Anachronism alert! While bollocks meaning “nonsense” originated in 1919, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, the first recorded use of dog’s bollocks, meaning “the very best,” wasn’t until the mid to late 1980s. Dog’s bollocks referring to, in typography, “a colon followed by a dash” (said to resemble the male sexual organs) is attested to 1949, according to the OED.

Dog’s bollocks meaning “the best” is a play on similar terms from the 1920s, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, such as the bee’s knees, the cat’s pajamas, and the cat’s meow.

drygulch

Jake: “He drygulched me.”
Al Capone: “He hit you when you wasn’t looking?”

“Blue Bell Boy,” Boardwalk Empire, October 7, 2012

Another anachronism! Drygulch, which means “to murder; to attack, assault, especially in an ambush,” didn’t come about until 1930, according to The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang, almost 10 years after this episode takes place.

The origin of the word is uncertain. It may come from the idea of the ambusher hiding in a dry gulch or ravine and jumping out a passerby, or perhaps from the idea of being taken by surprise by a flash flood caused by heavy rain filling a dry ravine.

DWB

Larry Wilmore: “Racism works best in person. Distrust but verified.”
Jon Stewart: “Like a cop pulling you over for a DWB.”
Larry: “I’m sorry, what’s that, Jon?”
Jon: “A DWB, you know. . .Driving While Black.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, October 2, 2012

DWB, or driving while black, “refers to the racial profiling of black drivers.” The phrase is a play on DWI, “driving while intoxicated,” and originated in 1990 in a New York Times article, says the OED.

Etch A Sketch

News commentator: “Mitt Romney presented us with the ultimate Etch A Sketch behavior last night.”

The Colbert Report, October 4, 2012

An Etch A Sketch is a drawing toy which one merely shakes to erase. Mitt Romney’s behavior is described as Etch a Sketch due to his tendency to express opinions that are contradictory to his opinions in the past.

Romney was first likened to the toy by his own senior campaign adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom: “[Romney’s campaign is] like Etch A Sketch. You can shake it up and we start all over again.”

menstruation

Nun: “Monthly time.”
Margaret: “You are at odds with menstruation?”
Dr. Mason: “It’s good Latin.”
Nun: “A regrettable neologism.”

“Blue Bell Boy,” Boardwalk Empire, October 7, 2012

Menstruation was actually not a neologism during the time of this episode, the early 1920s, but originated in the 1680s. Regarding another “problematical” word, pregnant, the sister had this suggestion: “Gravid has a noble ring.” Gravid comes from the Latin gravis, “heavy.”

pip and a half

George’s boss: “I gotta say, you’re a pip and a half.”

“Bone for Tuna,” Boardwalk Empire, September 30, 2012

You’re a pip is a British idiom that means, depending on the context, You’re a sweetheart, a pain in the neck, or a real character, according to a commenter on this Word Detective post on pip. A pip and a half is, presumably, even more so of a character.

If anyone has any additional information on this expression, please let us know.

Seelengut

Nick: “It’s interesting finding a Blutbad leading a flock of – ”
Pastor: “Seelenguten, Detective.”

“The Good Shepherd,” Grimm, September 28, 2012

Seelengut, a sheep-like creature that can take on human form, translates from the German as “good soul.” A blutbad is a werewolf type creature and translates from the German as “blood bath.”

straw poll

Leslie: “Let’s take a quick straw poll. Hold up green if you agree and red if you disagree.”

“Soda Tax,” Parks and Recreation, September 27, 2012

A straw poll is a casual or ad hoc survey. The phrase originated originated around 1932, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, as did straw ballot. Older is straw vote, which came about in 1866 and, according to William Safire et al, “may allude to a straw (thin plant stalk) held up to see in what direction the wind blows, in this case, the wind of group opinion.”

white horse

Maw Maw: “By the way, if you’re going with the white horse, I think I can get that for you. We’re talking about heroin, right?”

“Not Indecent, But Not Quite Decent Enough Proposal,” Raising Hope, October 2, 2012

White horse, or horse, is slang for heroin or cocaine. Horse referring to heroin originated around 1950. The word heroin originated in 1898 from the German Heroin, a trademark “registered by Friedrich Bayer & Co. for their morphine substitute.”

zinger

News announcer: “Mr. Romney’s team has concluded that debates are about creating moments and has equipped him with a series of zingers that he has memorized and has been practicing on aides since August.”
Jon Stewart: “You’ve equipped him with zingers. And you know I find the best zingers are the ones you practice for two months.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, October 1, 2012

A zinger is “a witty, often caustic remark.” The word originated around 1970 and was earlier “baseball slang for ‘fastball’ (by 1957).”

That’s it for this week! If you have any additional information on these words, especially the anachronisms, please let us know. And remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, tweet it on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

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Word Soup Wednesday: moochacracy, mad as a hatter, take it on the arches

Welcome to Word Soup Wednesday! While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

bug

Corcoran: “My leg’s been bugging me.”

“La Tempete,” Copper, September 16, 2012

Anachronism alert! While Copper takes place in 1864, bug meaning “to annoy, pester” originated in 1949, says the Online Etymology Dictionary. For more Copper anachronisms see Prochronisms.

bully pulpit

Nucky [to Margaret]: “My name is on that hospital, and it’s not to provide you with a bully pulpit.”

“Resolution,” Boardwalk Empire, September 16, 2012

A bully pulpit is “an advantageous position, as for making one’s views known or rallying support,” and was coined by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1904. (This episode takes place in the 1920s.) More words coined by U.S. presidents.

keen

Eli [showing his son a model airplane]: “Happy two birthdays ago.”
Will: “Pretty keen.”

“Spaghetti & Coffee,” Boardwalk Empire, September 23, 2012

Keen in this context means “great; splendid; fine,” and originated in the early 1900s.

mad as a hatter

Cullen [to Lily]: “Sober as a judge, mad as a hatter.”

“Purged Away With Blood,” Hell on Wheels, September 16, 2012

Mad as a hatter means “demented or crazy,” and originated around 1829, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, “supposedly from erratic behavior caused by prolonged exposure to poison mercuric nitrate, used in making felt hats.”

Mad as March hare is attested from the 1520s, via the “notion of breeding season.” Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with its Mad Hatter hare was published in 1865, the same year this episode takes place.

moochacracy

Jon Stewart: “Or the incredible tax breaks the government gives the investor class, whose money is taxed at a capital gains rate of 15% as opposed to ordinary having-a-job income which can be taxed up to 35%. Boy I wish we had a poster boy for that element of moochacracy. Oh right.” [Cuts to picture of Mitt Romney]

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, September 19, 2012

Moochacracy is a blend of mooch, “to get or try to get something free of charge; sponge,” and –cracy, “rule or government by.” Mooch probably comes from the Old French muchier, “to hide, skulk,” while –cracy comes from the Greek kratos, “strength.” Stewart continues:

In 2010, Governor Romney had an adjusted gross income of $21.6 million yet paid only $3 million in federal income tax, or 13.9%. Without the preferential investor tax code, Romney would have paid $7.56 million – a government subsidy of $4.56 million, or. . . .enough food stamps to feed Mr. Romney through the year 4870.

reboot

Diane Sawyer: “The Romney camp is said to be engineering a reboot.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, September 18, 2012

Reboot means “to turn (a computer or operating system) off and then on again; restart,” and originated in 1971, says the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The noun form originated in 1980.

redistribution

Stephen Colbert: “[Obama] dropped the R-bomb! Redistribution, which is just fancy talk for ‘a black guy is coming for your stuff’! Here’s his vision for America, folks. You pay taxes into a single federal agency that pools it and redistributes it across the country to build roads and bridges, sometimes in states you don’t live in!”

The Colbert Report, September 19, 2012

Redistribution is “an economic theory or policy that advocates reducing inequalities in the distribution of wealth,” and originated around 1825, says the OED.

steamy

Eva: “You look steamy, Kevin. Can’t wait to pull those clothes off you later.”

“La Tempete,” Copper, September 16, 2012

Another anachronism. Steamy meaning “erotic” didn’t come about until 1952, almost 90 years after this episode takes place. Again, for more Copper anachronisms see Prochronisms.

take it on the arches

Woman [to Nelson]: “Take it on the arches!”

“Resolution,” Boardwalk Empire, September 16, 2012

Take it on the arches is “encouragement for one to move along and walk away via one’s foot arches.”

welfare queen

Jon Stewart: “That says nothing about the real parasites, welfare queens. Public assistance is clearly a path to dependency. I would like to see evidence otherwise.”
Video of Mitt Romney’s mother speaking of Romney’s father: “He was a refugee from Mexico. He was on relief-welfare for the first years of his life.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, September 18, 2012

Welfare queen is “a pejorative phrase used. . .to describe people who are accused of collecting excessive welfare payments through fraud or manipulation.” The term seems to have first appeared in a 1976 speech by then presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

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Word Soup Wednesday: Creatrix, EKIA, hop the twig, and more

Welcome to Word Soup Wednesday! While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

Creatrix

Bender: “What the hell’s a free will slot?”
Monk: “All robots have such a slot, placed there by the Creatrix herself.”

“Free Will Hunting,” Futurama, August 8, 2012

A creatrix is a female creator, where –trix is the feminine form of –tor. See also dominatrix, aviatrix, rixatrix, and more. Futurama’s Creatrix is also known as Mom, “the owner and CEO of MomCorp,” an Apple-like company.

EKIA

Sloan: “What does EKIA mean?”
Don: “Enemy killed in action.”

“5/1,” The Newsroom, August 5, 2012

The EKIA here refers to Osama Bin Laden. The full message that President Obama received was, “Geronimo EKIA,” where Geronimo was the code name for Bin Laden. Some controversy arose around this code name as Geronimo is “the nickname of a Native American leader considered by many to have been a hero and a freedom fighter.”

get

Maggie: “It’s what’s called a get. It’s promotable.”

“The Blackout Part II: Mock Debate,” The Newsroom, August 19, 2012

A get is, presumably, a hot news story, although some question “whether a real newsroom would consider [an interview with a high school classmate of Casey Anthony] a get worth fighting for.”

greater fool

Sloan: “The greater fool is actually an economic term. It’s a patsy. For the rest of to profit, we need a greater fool, someone who will buy long and sell short. Most people spend their lives trying not to be the greater fool. We pass him a hot potato, we dive for his seat when the music stops. The greater fool is someone with the perfect blend of self-delusion and ego to think that he can succeed where others have failed. This whole country was made by greater fools.”

“The Greater Fool,” The Newsroom, August 26, 2012

The greater fool theory, also known as survivor investing, “is the belief held by one who makes a questionable investment, with the assumption that they will be able to sell it later to ‘a greater fool.’”

hop the twig

Eva: “He’s put food in my belly and a roof over my head ever since we hopped the twig.”

“Slaughterhouse,” Hell on Wheels, August 26, 2012

While hop the twig more commonly means to pass away or die, it also once meant ‘to run away from one’s creditors, as a bird eludes a fowler, ‘hopping from spray to spray,’” which is the meaning in this context.

imagination inflation

Pierce: “It’s imagination inflation. The agents interrogating Brady told him he had stabbed the judge with the knife so that’s the false memory that he forms. But he didn’t do it.”

“Nemesis,” Perception, August 27, 2012

Imagination inflation refers to the phenomenon of believing a non-existent event has occurred as a result of having imagined it.

knocking shop

Madam: “How the hell are you two skinny chaps gonna protect my knocking shop?”

“Viva La Mexico,” Hell on Wheels, August 12, 2012

A knocking shop is a brothel. Knock was once slang for “to copulate with.” See knocked up.

mauvais dents

Kelly: “From what our ancestors wrote, it’s a vicious killing machine. One of them can wipe out an entire village. But you better be careful. Mauvais dents is like a cat. He’ll watch, he’ll wait.”

“Bad Teeth,” Grimm, August 13, 2012

Mauvais dents translates from the French as “bad teeth” of “bad fangs.”

meatbag

Bender: “Goodbye, sweet meatbags! Sweetbags.”

“Free Will Hunting,” Futurama, August 8, 2012

Meatbag is a derogatory term used by robots for humans. It was first used by Bender in Futurama’s first episode, “Space Pilot 3000“, which premiered on March 28, 1999. We couldn’t find an earlier usage, but if anyone finds one, please let us know.

RINO

Will: “I’m what the leaders of the Tea Party would call a RINO, Republican in Name Only, and that’s ironic because that’s exactly what I think about the leaders of the Tea Party.”

“The Greater Fool,” The Newsroom, August 26, 2012

RINO, pronounced like the animal, rhino, “is a pejorative term that refers to a member of the Republican Party of the United States whose political views or actions are considered insufficiently conservative or otherwise conforming to liberal positions.” While the term Republican in name only has been in use since the 1920s, the acronym arose in the 1990s.

rotgut

Elam: “That there the good stuff, not that rotgut y’all drank.”

“The Railroad Job,” Hell on Wheels, September 9, 2012

Rotgut is “bad or adulterated liquor, injurious to the stomach and bowels; in the United States, specifically, whisky adulterated with deleterious substances to cheapen it while increasing its apparent strength.” The term originated in the 17th century, and is especially significant in this scene as Elam’s drinking partner has a bleeding injury in his “gut.”

sardini

Zoidberg: “I’m having fun. . .and a sardini.”

“Viva Mars Vegas,” Futurama, August 22, 2012

Sardini is a blend of sardine and martini. Other martini blends include vodkatini, appletini, saketini, and our favorite, the bacontini.

sawbones

Doctor: “He needs a more qualified surgeon ma’am, not some battlefield sawbones like me.”

“The Railroad Job,” Hell on Wheels, September 9, 2012

Sawbones is slang for a surgeon, and originated around 1837.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

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Breaking Bad Words: Thieves, Drugs, and Special Sauce

Just what does it mean to break bad? We discussed it in an earlier post: breaking bad is American Southern colloquialism for “turn[ing] toward a life of crime or immoral activity,” as well as, according to Partridge, “act[ing] in a threatening, menacing manner” – two counts, among many others, that Walter White and his band of not-so-merry thieves and drug dealers are guilty of.

We’re guilty of being addicted to this show, and in anticipation of this Sunday’s mid-season finale, have cooked up a glossary of words that break bad. Spoilers follow.

UPDATE: A term from the mid-season finale is now included (see queen for a day).

banjo eyes

Hank: “What about that Lydia what’s-her-name? You know, Lady Banjo Eyes at the warehouse?”

“Fifty-One,” August 5, 2012

Banjo eyes are “wide-open eyes, as from being surprised or startled,” similar in appearance to the round and white banjo body. The term seems to have originated in the early 1900s.

dark territory

Lydia: “If a freight train is stopped in transit anywhere other than the usual yards or depots, absolutely, a signal will automatically alarm the FRA and the TSA surface division of the department of Homeland Security. But what you don’t know and I do because my job requires me to keep track of buyers’ shipments – this is dark territory.”
Jesse: “What’s that?”
Lydia: “Transpeak for an area of no contact. It’s a dead zone. No automated supervision system, no alarms, no contact with control. No cellular either. I’m telling you, it’s the perfect place.”

“Dead Freight,” August 12, 2012

Dark territory refers to “a section of [railroad] track not controlled by signals,” in which “train movements in dark territory are controlled by track warrants or train order operation, with train dispatchers issuing orders by radio communication with train engineers.”

dead drop

Steven [watching Mike]: “It’s a dead drop. He just stashed something underneath that trash can.”

“Buyout,” August 19, 2012

A dead drop is “a location used to secretly pass items between two people, without requiring them to meet.”

ex parte

Saul:  “I have filed for a temporary restraining order against the DEA on behalf of Mr. Ehrmantraut. . . .Expect a visit from the sheriff, agents. You should have your ex parte within the hour.”

“Buyout,” August 19, 2012

A temporary restraining order that is filed ex parte is filed “without informing in advance the party to whom the TRO is directed,” and is usually done so “to prevent an adversary from having notice of one’s intentions.”

The definition of ex parte in law is “proceeding from or concerned with only one part or side of a matter in question: with reference to any step taken by or on behalf of one of the parties to a suit or in any judicial proceeding without notice to the other.”

flip

Saul: “If the DEA catches him and he flips, it’s good night, John Boy.”
Jesse: “Mike won’t flip.”

“Say My Name,” August 26, 2012

To flip in this context means “to cause (a person) to turn against former colleagues, such as to become a witness for the state, in a criminal prosecution in which the person is a defendant.”

Franch

Food scientist: “This one is a new concept, and it intrigues us, half-French dressing, half-ranch. We refer to it simply as ‘Franch.’”

“Madrigal,” July 22, 2012

Franch is a type of salad dressing or sauce that’s a blend, literally and linguistically, of French and ranch dressing.

huckleberry

Saul: “Do I complain? No, beg, borrow, or steal, I’m your huckleberry. I go the extra mile.”

“Live Free or Die,” July 15, 2012

The phrase I’m your huckleberry means “to be just the right person for a given job, or a willing executor of some commission,” says World Wide Words. The phrase comes from the idea of huckleberries being “small, dark and rather insignificant,” and the sense that “the man for the job isn’t obvious.” It doesn’t seem to derive directly from Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

in Dutch

Saul: “She’s been cooking Beneke’s books. He’s in Dutch with the IRS, and once they audit, it’s Rio de Caca for the both of them, to which I say, ‘Hey, let’s involve Walt in this discussion,’ to which she says, ‘No.’”

“Live Free or Die,” July 15, 2012

To be in Dutch means to be “in trouble or disfavor” with, and perhaps comes from the old stereotype, says World Wide Words, of the Dutch being “stolid, miserly, and bad-tempered.” Other Dutch phrases include go Dutch, Dutch treat, Dutch courage, and Dutch uncle.

mule

Mike: “You’re forgetting about the mules. They get a flat 20%”
Walt: “The what?”
Jesse: “The drivers that are the ones that take the product from us to the dealers.”

“Hazard Pay,” July 29, 2012

A mule is slang for “a person who serves as a courier of illegal drugs.” It comes from the idea of the mule as a pack animal, “used to carry loads,” and is first attested to 1935.

queen for a day

Lawyer: “The best I’d be willing to do is queen for a day and reduced charges.”
Hank: “He could be a fairy princess for all I care.”

“Gliding Over All,” September 2, 2012

Queen for a day agreements, according to the New York Criminal Bar Association, are also known as proffer agreements. They “govern the conditions under which prospective criminal defendants and the government agree to conduct an interview,” and

generally require criminal defendants, who hope to gain leniency through a reduced sentence or immunity grant, to waive their plea-statement rights, and they permit, in certain circumstances, the prosecution to introduce previously inadmissible proffer statements at trial.

The term comes from the television show of the same name.

second-story man

Saul: “Pest control operation’s legit. They’re licensed, they’re bonded, they do as good a job as anyone in town. But they’re also top-drawer second-story men.
Walt: “Second story?”
Saul: “B&E artists. They’re burglars.”

“Hazard Pay,” July 29, 2012

A second-story man is slang for “a burglar adept at entering through upstairs windows.” A B&E artist is adept at breaking and entering, which is “the gaining of unauthorized, illegal access to another’s premises, as by forcing a lock.”

special sauce

Hank [to Mike]: “Corporate security. What’s that, like guarding the special sauce?”

“Madrigal,” July 22, 2012

Special sauce originally referred to McDonald’s “basic ingredient in [their] Big Mac hamburgers, a sort of Thousand Island dressing (now called Big Mac sauce by the company),” but now perhaps refers to any unidentifiable fast food sauce. For more on special sauces, checkout Erin McKean’s article on saucy affixes.

[Photo: Coke & Popcorn]

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True Blood: Some Fangtastic Words

The season finale of the television show True Blood is right around the corner – are you all caught up on the vampire drama? If not (and even if you are), take a bite out of our favorite words from the little town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, where “everyone wants a taste.”

Contains possible spoilers and definite expletives.

abjure

Alcide: “I lost packmaster. I’ve been abjured.”
Jackson: “Well, you’re a lone wolf now, just like your old man.”

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” August 5, 2012

To be abjured means to be banished from a wolf pack. The packmaster is the leader of the wolf pack while a lone wolf refers to both “a wolf that is not part of a pack” and “a person who avoids the company of others; a loner.”

baby vamp

Pam [to Jessica]: “Since when did I become a halfway house for wayward baby vamps?”

“Sunset,” August 19, 2012

A baby vamp is a newly-turned vampire, perhaps in the last three years or so (some vampires are hundreds and even thousands of years old). Baby vamp is also 1920s slang for “a popular girl,” where vamp means “a woman who uses her sex appeal to entrap and exploit men.”

daywalk

Russell: “The legends are true. The blood of the Fae allows us to daywalk.”

“Gone, Gone, Gone,” August 12, 2012

To daywalk means to walk during the day. When True Blood’s vampires drink fairy blood, they are protected from the sun and may walk during daylight hours.

dead check

Terry: “She’s alive, sergeant!”
Patrick: “Dead check her.”

“Let’s Boot and Rally,” July 8, 2012

Dead checking is “U.S. military jargon for the practice of verifying the death of Iraqi insurgents and the subsequent killing of those who remain alive.”

drainer

Alcide: “I didn’t do anything to Debbie. She’s probably holed up with some drainer getting loaded.”

“Whatever I Am, You Made Me,” June 24, 2012

A drainer is one who attacks vampires and drains their blood supply for the purpose of selling the vampires’ blood as V, a highly addictive drug that “may cause psychotic or murderous rampages by human users upon the first use.”

fangbanger

Tara: “I never took you for no fangbanger.”
Hoyt: “I never took you for no vamper.”

“Let’s Boot and Rally,” July 8, 2012

Fangbangers are “vampire groupies—those who enjoy having sex with vampires and being bitten.” More kinds of groupies.

fang boner

Jessica [to Steve Newlin]: “Look at you, fang boner, and real boner.”

“Authority Always Wins,” June 17, 2012

A fang boner is the way a vampire shows he or she is sexually aroused – with “erect” fangs.” Boner meaning “a blunder or an error” originated around 1912, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, as baseball slang, perhaps as a shortening of bonehead. Boner meaning “erect penis” is from the 1950s.

glamour

Commander: “They know too much.”
Bill: “Nothing that a little glamouring won’t take care of.”

“Hopeless,” July 15, 2012

Glamouring is a type of hypnosis that vampires can perform on non-vampires. An archaic definition of the word glamour is “enchantment; a supposed influence of a charm on the eye, causing it to see objects under an unreal semblance; hence, anything that obscures or deceives vision, physical or mental; fascination; charm; witchery.” The word is Scottish in origin and an alteration of the English grammar, which had the “medieval sense of ‘any sort of scholarship, especially occult learning.’”

A grimoire, which comes from an altered form of the French grammaire, “grammar,” is “a book of instructions in the use of magic or alchemy, especially summoning demons.”

ground

Molly [regarding iStakes]: “These things are totally indestructible, waterproof, fireproof yada yada yada. Knows who you had for breakfast, and where you go to ground.”

“Whatever I Am, You Made Me,” June 24, 2012

To ground means, for vampires, to sleep somewhere away from the sun, which could mean literally in the ground or in a dark well-protected place such as a basement. On the television show Being Human, a grounding for a vampire has another meaning: the punishment of being buried alive, playing on the meaning of being grounded, “confined to one’s room, typically by a parent, as a punishment.”

ifrit

Brian: “It’s called ifrit. It means ‘the evil,’ an infernal being of smoke and fire, and it’s coming for us.”

“Let’s Boot and Rally,” July 8, 2012

An ifrit, also afrit and afreet, is (in Arabian mythology), “a powerful evil demon or monster,” and a type of jinn, “a class of spirits lower than the angels, made of fire, capable of appearing in both human and animal forms, and exercising supernatural influence over mankind, for both good and evil.” The word ifrit comes from either the Arabic afara, “to rub with dust,” or the Middle Persian afritan, which corresponds to the Modern Persian word for “to create.”

laid man

Jason: “Listen, I ain’t been to med school, or fairy school, or nothin’. So if you could put it in terms a laid man can understand, I’d appreciate it.”

“In the Beginning,” July 22, 2012

Laid man here is an eggcorn, a lexical misuse that makes sense to the speaker or listener. What Jason means is layman, “an unprofessional man; a man belonging to the laity or general mass of people,” but laid man makes sense to him because he is one who gets laid often, or has a lot of sex.

An eggcorn from Jason last season was parrot-phrase: “I might be parrot-phrasing a little.” He meant paraphrase, “to restate or translate with latitude.” To parrot means “to say or repeat by rote or not understandingly, like a parrot; repeat mechanically.”

mainstreaming

Roman: “Every vampire on this council has committed our careers, our lives, our destinies, to mainstreaming. Co-existence with humans is not an option. It is a necessity.”

“Authority Always Wins,” June 17, 2012

Mainstreaming refers to, according to the True Blood Wikia, “a social movement within the vampire race, in which vampires attempt to integrate themselves into everyday human society.” The term comes from mainstream, “to incorporate into a prevailing group.” The original sense of mainstream, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, was “principal current of a river,” which originated in the 1660s, and came to mean “prevailing direction in opinion, popular taste, etc.” around 1831.

True Blood’s mainstreaming may have the ironic echo of mainlining, “inject[ing] a drug intravenously,” with the idea of the vampires ingesting humans’ blood, or vice versa.

maker

Pam: “You’re my maker, Eric, and I would die for you gladly a thousand times before I would ever betray you. You know I would.”
Eric: “Then you’d be a fool.”

“We’ll Meet Again,” July 1, 2012

A maker is a vampire that has turned a human into a vampire, and plays on maker as a synonym for God. The new vampire is the maker’s progeny. Makers have full control over their progeny until the progeny are formally released.

necromancer

Bill: “You’re taking a huge risk. Why would you choose – ”
Nora: “Because I’d do anything for Eric. . .and because you did what you did protecting us from the necromancers.”

“Turn! Turn! Turn!” June 10, 2012

A necromancer practices necromancy, “divination by calling up the spirits of the dead and conversing with them; the pretended summoning of apparitions of the dead in order that they may answer questions.”

nest behavior

Jessica: “Bill, I’ve never seen him like that. He was cold. Cruel, even.”
Pam: “That’s nest behavior. When vampires live together for a long time and feed off of each other’s blood, they form a nest and become sadistic and crazy. From what you’re telling me, drinking that Lilith’s blood has made it a nest on steroids.”

“Sunset,” August 19, 2012

Nest in this context means “a place or environment that fosters rapid growth or development, especially of something undesirable; a hotbed,” and conveys a hornet’s nest, “a highly contentious or hazardous situation.” Nesting behavior is the behavior of humans or animals as they prepare to give birth to young.

peckerwood

Pam: “You exist only for Tara’s nourishment. You will consider it a privilege to let your racist, peckerwood blood shoot into her gorgeous cocoa mouth.”

“Somebody That I Used to Know,” July 29, 2012

A peckerwood is “a slur used through the mid 20th century by southern African Americans and upper class whites to describe poor rural whites.” The word originated around 1859 as a “U.S. Southern black dialectal inversion of woodpecker; in folklore, taken as the type of white folks (1929) and symbolically contrasted with blackbird.”

Sanguinista movement

Roman: “Have you heard of the Sanguinista movement?”
Steve: “They believe that humans should be farmed like cattle, owned like slaves.”

“Whatever I Am, You Made Me,” June 24, 2012

The Sanguinista movement is “a faction of rebellious vampires. . .opposed to mainstreaming,” who “believe that vampires should dominate humans instead of coexisting in peace.”

The word Sanguinista is a blend of sanguine, “bloodthirsty; bloody,” and Sandinista of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, “a social-democratic political party in Nicaragua which was communist in the 1980s” that “overthrew [the president] Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending the Somoza dynasty, and established a revolutionary government in its place.”

Sandinista comes from “Augusto César Sandino (1895–1934), the charismatic leader of Nicaragua’s nationalist rebellion against the US occupation of the country during the early 20th century.”

silver

Eric: “Be careful. [Russell is] the strongest vampire I’ve ever met.”
Salome: “He’s been silvered, intravenously. He’s quite impaired.”

“Hopeless,” July 15, 2012

Silver “seems to be the only element on earth able to hold down and bind a vampire,” burning their skin upon contact. In some folklore, a silver bullet is deadly to werewolves, witches, and other supernatural creatures. A silver bullet also refers to “an infallible means of attack or defense,” or “a simple remedy for a difficult or intractable problem.”

skinwalk

Sam [to Luna]: “I’m taking you back to the hospital. My brother died from skinwalking.”

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” August 5, 2012

To skinwalk means to change into another human, which differs from shapeshifting, which means changing from human into animal form. Symptoms after an episode of skinwalking “include running a high fever and vomiting blood,” and possibly death.

supe

Jason: “Those guys, and all those strippers, they’re fairies, like Tinkerball [sic]! They’re supes, man.”

“Let’s Boot and Rally,” July 8, 2012

Supe is short for supernatural, “that which is above or beyond the established course or laws of nature; something transcending nature.”

true death

Salome: “Her betrayal was unforgivable. She met the true death.”

“Authority Always Wins,” June 17, 2012

The true death refers to “the ultimate destruction of an otherwise immortal being, such as a vampire.” Vampires may die by a wooden stake or bullet through the heart, prolonged exposure to sunlight, being drained of all blood and not replenished in time, and decapitation.

WT

Sookie [to Luna]: “I got junk magazines, junk food because I know how awful hospital food can be, and of course some flowers to class it up a bit so I don’t seem to so WT.”

“In the Beginning,” July 22, 2012

WT stands for white trash, “a disparaging term for a poor white person or poor white people.” The terms seems to have originated around 1831 originally as “Southern U.S. black slang.”